folk performing art in the aftermath of the great east japan earthquake

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Folk Performing Art in theAftermath of the Great EastJapan EarthquakeIsao HayashiPublished online: 02 Jan 2013.

To cite this article: Isao Hayashi (2012) Folk Performing Art in the Aftermathof the Great East Japan Earthquake, Asian Anthropology, 11:1, 75-87, DOI:10.1080/1683478X.2012.10600857

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FolkPerformingArtintheAftermathoftheGreatEastJapanEarthquake

IsaoHAYASHI

Meeting and Parting with the Dead

SeveraldaysaftertheGreatEastJapanEarthquake,Isawaphotographofthedisaster areawhile Iwasgoing through a foreignnewspaperwebsiteandwas transfixedby it. Itwas aphotoof a roomwith corpses lying inrepose. I did not think the positions of the bodies “lying in repose” wasappropriate,andwhenIlookedcloser,itappearedtobearoominapublichall or school that had barely been spared the destruction, and had beenflooded.Thecameracapturedanimageofpeekingintotheroomfromthecorridor. The seawater that had forced its way into the room remainedwhere it was on the floor.The corpses had been laid on desks or tables,and in the image only parts of their feet were visible. Of course, powerhad been lost, so the room was in almost complete darkness.The photogave thesenseof thedampnessand thecoldairofTohokuin themiddleofMarch.Fromthisphoto,Icouldnothelpbutconsidertheconditionsinwhich the bereaved had been left after the Great Hanshin AwajiEarthquakedisasterof16yearsago,centeredonKobe.

Therewasa toweringnumberof thebereaved left in theshadowofthosekilledintheGreatHanshin-AwajiEarthquake—over6,000people.What Icannot forget ishowthebereavedfaced thebodiesof their rela-tives,andtheirdeaths.Evensupposingthatthecorpsescouldbe“rescued”temporarilyfromthedebris,thesituationarosewherebyitwasnecessaryto wrap them in blankets or sheets and place them by the side of theroadforthetimebeingwithoutknowingwheretocarrythebodies.Even

Isao HayashiisanassociateprofessorofCulturalAnthropologyattheNationalMuseumofEthnology.Hecanbereachedatisaki@idc.minpaku.ac.jp

Published by The Chinese University Press

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76 IsaoHAYASHI

though they were somehow moved to nearby schools, public buildings,temples, and churches, which were specified as treatment centers andevacuation sites, they did not know when coroners and deliveries ofcoffinsordryicetopreventdamageorputrefactiontothecorpseswouldarrive. The bereaved stayed close to the bodies. During that time, theywiped the dust-covered faces and bodies of the corpses, placed flowersandwaterbytheirpillowsandonthecoffins,andlitsticksofincenseinaformofimprovisedmourning.

Evenduringtimesofemergency,suchasthisdisaster, thebereavedseek to perform some type of typical ceremony to mourn the dead.These were necessary procedures for parting with the dead (known as“mourning work”). Takeshi Sori, the folklorist who lost his youngerbrotherduring theGreatHanshin-AwajiEarthquake,said this regardingtheseprocedures:“Bylivingthroughthis‘timeofmourning’inascloseto normal daily life as possible, the bereaved, albeit ironically, haverestored their normality as the bereaved amidst abnormal conditions,andcanbesaidtohavetakenanimportantfirststepinpost-earthquakeliving”(Sori2003).

Whereas in the case of earthquake disasters, nearly all the corpsescanbediscoveredinthedisasterzone,thediscoveryofbodiesindisasterareas flooded by a tsunami is extremely difficult. Tsunamis destroybuildings, and corpses are washed away by the undertows. Evensupposing thatbodies are found, it isoftenonlyafter considerable timeelapses. Deterioration of the body can be severe, and thus checkingclothing and personal belongings, making comparisons with dentalrecords, andDNA testing,will allbenecessary toverify the identityofthese bodies. The Great East Japan Earthquake also caused large-sizedfiresinmorethanonearea.MyhearthurtswhenIimaginethatnotonlyis there the sense of loss and tragedy at suddenly losing a relative, butalsoafeelingofdisappointment,restlessnessanddespair,sincethedeadbodiesmaynotbefound.

Eveniftheyarefound,thebereavedaredistressedifthedeadbodiesaredamaged.Whatdo thebereaved thinkwhen theyare facedwith thedismembered bodies of their relatives, and how do they involve them-selves in the procedures for parting which they must perform? For thebereaved, “mourning work” does not end with funerals or burials; itcontinues every year with events such as Bon (a Buddhist festivalobserved during the months of July or August, during which everyhousehold welcomes back their ancestors’ departed souls to this world)


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FolkPerformingArtintheAftermathoftheGreatEastJapanEarthquake 77

andtheanniversaryofthedeathofafamilymember.Memorialceremo-nies and services will continue every year thereafter. I wonder if theseeventswillbeimplementedinlinewiththetraditionsperformedbyeachlocalsocietyandifthebereavedcanprayforthereposeofthedead,andare gradually able to recover their spiritual peace. While recalling theGreat Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake due to a single photograph, I alsothoughtoftheuncertaintyamongthebereavedinthenewdisasterzonesand the procedures for parting from the dead, or in creating new rela-tionships between the dead and the bereaved, enabling the latter torebuildtheirlives.

Folk Performing Art after the Disaster

In the devastated area of the Great East Japan Earthquake, especiallyalong the Sanriku coastal area that extends to both Iwate and Miyagiprefectures, itwas reported innewspapersandonTV thatwithinhalf amonthafterthedisaster,itssurvivorsbeganperformingfolkartssuchastoramai,thetigerdance,inevacuationcenters.InMay,severalorganiza-tions began supporting folk performing art, providing funding forclothingandpropsthathadbeensweptawaybythetsunamiandneededto be repaired or replaced. At the end of June, on the 100th day ofsupplication, kenbai, the sword dance, and shishiodori, the deer danceforthedeadsouls,wereperformedinthedevastatedcoastalareas.Manyafflicted people still could not move to temporary housing, and therewerenoprospectsforrebuildingandoccupyingtheirhouses.Iwonderedwhy these people attended these folk performing arts in the devastatedareas,andextendedhelpinghandsfortheirrebirth.

In order to rebuild and reconstruct the affected area, we need toprepare for future tsunamis by moving to higher sites or raising theground artificially and by building barriers. However, people cannotrebuild their lives simply by ensuring housing, livelihood and employ-ment, improving infrastructure, and restoring everyday conveniences. Itis true that human life should be given first priority in the emergencyresponse after the disaster. In future disaster prevention and reductionmeasures, what we should protect first is human life. Since many deadandmissing resulted from thedisaster, thereemergedamoodofvolun-tary restraint nationwide, and the cancellation of some annual festivals,even the cherry-blossom festivals, thereby giving consideration to thegriefof thebereaved.Nonetheless, folkperformingartswereperformed


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soon after the disaster in the devastated area of the Sanriku coastalregion.Thisindicatesthatweshouldtakenoticeofpeople’sexpectationstoward the power of performing art in rebuilding their lives and recon-structing their neighborhoods. Some members of folk performing artpreservation societies were willing to strive to find the clothing andpropsinthedebrissweptawaybythetsunami.I thinkthat thesepeopleweretryingtofindsomethingstableintheconfusionandloss,evenifitmightbesmall,formorereasonsthanjustto“keepuptheirspirits.”

Before the reconstruction began, right after the disaster, humani-tarian support was the most important activity in which people couldengage, as well as recovery activities involving infrastructure.Nonetheless, although we are still in the middle of the process ofproviding humanitarian support, I cannot help paying attention to theenormous interest given to local culture, especially the folk performingarts.Housesand townsweredestroyedby the tsunami.People lost theirfamilyandfriends,andeven though they themselvesarestillalive, theyhave been scattered from their relatives, neighbors and coworkers andcannot get connected to one another under these circumstances. Byturning to the folk performing arts which they have been familiar withover the years, people recall the continuity with their life before thedisaster. Therefore, the affected people instantaneously took action forthe rebirthof folkperformingarts, and responding to thesemovements,severalnonprofit foundations startedassisting them in the rebirthof thetraditional folk performing arts. It is extremely unusual that folkperforming arts should have attracted so much attention so early in theaftermathofadisaster.

Rescue Activities for Cultural Property

AttheendofMarch2011,somethreeweeksafterthedisasterstruck,theAgencyforCulturalAffairsannouncedtheimplementationoftheCulturalProperty Rescue Programme, a “rescue program for cultural assetsdamaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster” (Agency forCultural Affairs 2011) to urgently protect moveable cultural assetsdamagedby theearthquakeand tsunami,and toprevent theirdestructionandscattering.Ofthis intendedassistance, itwassaidthat“regardlessofthe presence or absence of the designation … of the national and localgovernments, it should be conducted with a focus on paintings, sculp-tures,artifacts,books,ancientdocuments,archeologicalobjects,historical


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documents,andpersonalculturalassetssuchas tangiblefolkloreculturalassetsandartsatthemoment”(AgencyforCulturalAffairs2011).

TheNationalMuseumofEthnologynotonlydecided toparticipateand cooperate in the Cultural Property Rescue Programme but also tostart an earthquake disaster reconstruction support and countermeasureteam,withmeasteamleader,tostartgatheringinformationonthestatusof damage to museums, resource centers and universities with culturalanthropology courses in the affected region. Actually, the CulturalPropertyRescueProgrammeprioritizedtherescueofthedocumentsthatmuseums,artgalleriesand resourcecenterspossess, andof the tangiblecultural assets which the national and local governments aside frommunicipalitieshavedesignatedorregistered.

It was very difficult to investigate the damage to intangible culturalassets such as folk performing arts and manufacturing technology. Eventhough they were designated as intangible cultural assets, their recordswerewashedawaybythe tsunamiordestroyedbyfire. Inothercases, itwas impossible to make contact with the members of the associations,since this required a fair amount of time to confirm their existence andfindtheevacuationcentersinwhichtheyweresheltered.Forinstance,inRikuzentakataCityinIwatePrefecture,almosttenpercentofthepopula-tion of about 23,000 was killed or went missing in the disaster; one-fourthofthecityofficialswerecasualties.Thecitymuseumwasfloodedwith seawater up to the ceilingof the second floor, and all six cityoffi-cials responsible for it were killed or missing. Rescue and restorationoperations for specimens were conducted in cooperation with museumsand libraries inside and outside Iwate Prefecture; but even informationconcerningtheassociationsoffolkperformingartswhichhadbeenoper-ating in the citywaswashedaway. In thebeginningofMay,wehadnoother choice but to go to the actual place to collect information on theactivitiesoftheassociationsbeforethedisaster,andtoassessthedamage.

I visited Iwate Prefecture from the end of May through June,following my visits to Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures inApril andMay.Thepurposeon thisoccasionwas to learnandcollect informationon the situation regarding damaged intangible cultural properties.Therewere cases in which the members of preservation associations of theperforming arts had died, cases in which houses of the members hadbeen damaged even though no personal injuries occurred, and cases inwhichplacesofworkhadbeendamaged.Often therehadbeendamagetothepropsandclothing,ortotheperformancesitessuchasshrinesand


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temples which were required for these arts and festivals. I began tounderstand the many difficult conditions confronting the performing artgroups,whichtheyhadnoprospectofrestarting.

Mawarikagura (kagura isaformofsacredShintodanceandmusic;mawarikagura isa typeofkagurapracticed in the formofaprocessionthatmakesitswaythroughawideareaoverseveralmonths)isstillprac-ticed in the coastal area of Iwate Prefecture. There are visits to everysettlementfromtheNewYear’sholidayuntilMarch,visitingeachhouse-holdandenactingeveningperformances.Danceprocessionscalledkuro-mori-kagura and unotori-kagura travel northwards, as far north as thevillages in Kuji City, and southwards, as far south as the villages inKamaishi City.1 However, the disaster inflicted damage on the perfor-mance sites that host these mawarikagura. Since the damage was soserious, some of the villages were in danger of not being able to bevisitedafter the turnof theyear. Ionceagainrealizedthat thebeareroffolkperforming art is not only thepeoplewhoperform the art but alsotheaudiencewhowelcomestheart.

When I visited Iwate Prefecture, I learned that the two deer dancetroupes inOfunatoCity, theplace Ihadvisited in thepreviousyear foran academic symposium, had lost their entire set of clothing and propsin the tsunami andwereunable to perform their dance.Oneof the twogroupsdedicatestheirperformancetothenewlydeadduringBoneventseveryyear.Naturally, theBon followingadisaster suchas thisonewillhave a large number of the newly dead. The folk performing arts arededicatedtoperformingforthesakeofthereposeofthedead,includingkenbai,thesworddance,andshishiodori,thedeerdance.However,therewas apprehension regarding how to welcome the Bon festival. As forshishiodori,theysaidthateveniftheywereabletoacquiresomesortoffinancial support and were able to procure new costumes and props, itwouldnotbeeasytoobtainrealdeerantlersforthedeerheaddresses.

I was thinking that for the bereaved, the inability to follow theprocedures to part from their dead comprises a barrier to restoringnormality and facing up to the reconstruction of their lives, since theycannotholdBonceremoniesfollowingtheirownfamiliarcustom.Also,Iwasrecallingthewordsofpeoplewhocontinuedtoregrettakingsuchalong time tocremate their relativeswhodied in theGreatHashin-AwajiEarthquake and for having nothing more than a combined funeral forthem.At the same time, I was starting to think about the possibility ofobtainingrealdeerantlers.


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Support for the Deer Dance

The deer dance is a folk performing art which is handed on from onegeneration to the next in the area from northern Miyagi Prefecture toIwatePrefecture.Itiswrittenindifferentcharacters,suchas“獅子踊り ,”“ 獅子躍り ”and“ 鹿踊り ,”andispronouncedshishiodori.Thedanceisclassified roughly into two groups: taiko-odori-kei (drum dance) andmaku-odori-kei(shrouddance).Taiko-odori-keishishiodori isdistributedthroughout northern Miyagi Prefecture to southern Iwate Prefecture,whichistheformerterritoryoftheSendaiandIchinosekiclans,andalsocoverscertainsouthernpartsof the territoryof theformerMoriokaclanaswell.Itisavigorousdance,involvingdrummersbeatingoutarhythmandsingingwhilewearingaheaddressbearingapairofdeerantlers,andhangingashroudfromtheirfacetotheirchest.

It is also called yatsu(eight)-shikaodori since in many cases it isperformed in groups of eight. It is divided into several schools such asgyozan-ryu, kanatsu-ryu and kasuga-ryu, depending on their local

Figure 1. Performers of the taiko-odori-keideer dance at the end of June 2011, on the

100th-day supplication in Ofunato (Courtesy of Satoro Hyoki)


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derivationandtheroutethatistaken.Maku-odori-keishishiodori,ontheotherhand, isdistributed throughout theregionnorthofShiwa-GunandShimohei-Gun of Iwate Prefecture. In this version of the dance, thedancers do not beat drums but dance separately to the rhythm. Theywearapairofwoodenhornsontheirheadsandbetweenthehornstherestands anornamental panelwithopen-work carving.Twoof thepreser-vation associations which were damaged in Ofunato City belong to thegrouptaiko-odori-kei,gyozan-ryu.

Almost eighty percent of the urban district of Ofunato Citysuffered devastating damage and the troupes of shishiodori also weredevastated. Nagahama and Ōdachi in Akasaki Ward of Ofunato Cityhadpasseddown“gyozan-ryunagahama shishiodori” forgenerations.This area was once a farming and fishing settlement, but in recentyears had become a community of business families as well. In spiteof the changes of core industries and lifestyles in the community, theNagahama Shishiodori Association has been faithfully passing downthetradition,andithasbeenperformedatlocalfestivalsandmemorialservices. However, eighty percent of the 113 houses of Ōdachi andNagahama were damaged by the giant tsunami, and the associationhad their hall swept away, which had a complete set of costumes andprops forshishiodori.Asidefromthechairmanof theassociation,onesenior and two instructor dancers were killed in the disaster. Thecommunity center,which theyused as a rehearsal space, and theboattheyusedinfestivalsonceeveryfiveyearsinAkazakiTown,werealsolostinthetsunami.

The Sasazaki Shishiodori Association, which has passed down“gyozan-ryu shishiodori” in Sasazaki district, is well-known for theirdyed costumes, which are unique among all the shishiodori troupes inthe city, and is also known for the speed and vitality of their dance. Inrecent years, they have started to instruct local junior-high-schoolstudents and in cooperation with the local school have been playing animportant role in developing young people’s interest in folk performingarts.However,withalltheirpropstotheircostumessuchasheaddresses,deer antlers, and drums washed away by the tsunami, they have nowbeenforcedtogosilentforawhile.Nonetheless,theyarestillcontinuinginstruction of junior high-school students. The activity of these juniorhigh-school students is a great spiritual support for the local peopletowardsthereconstructionofthearea.


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Afterthedisaster,whentheaffiliatesofthesetwoassociationsaimedto restart their activities, they encountered a serious problem.Althoughtheyhadat lastfounddeerantlers,whicharethesymbolofshishiodori,the antlers were soaked with salt water or broken and were no longerusable.Itseemeddifficulttoobtainauthenticantlersinashortperiodoftime, which could act as a substitute for those that had been handeddown for generations. This is because there are aesthetic standards forthe deer antlers: they should be a little more than fifty-five centimeterslong,shouldbranchintofourprongs,andtheangleofthebottombranchof the antlers, called kusakake, should be long and wide. Hearing thedifficult circumstances of the performing arts groups, deer antlers weredonated from various sources, but the search for antlers that satisfiedthesecriteriayieldedfewthatcouldbeused.

Expanding Support

Ihadmadecontactwithlocalhunterswhiledoingresearchontheflooddisasters of 2009 in Hyogo Prefecture, and my wife had acquaintancesamong wild animal conservation supervisors and hunters in ShigaPrefecture through the cooking school she hosts; thus we quickly cameto a decision to try to find suitable deer antlers. We put out a call fordonations of deer antlers to individuals and groups such as venison-processing companies and hunting associations throughout the Kansaiarea,butthingsdidn’tgoaswellaswehadexpected.

First, there is the fact that, following Bergmann’s rule,2 in order tomaintaintheirbodytemperaturesmanywildanimalsarebiggerinsizeinnorthern regions and become smaller in southern regions. The Honshudeer, whose northern habitat boundary is Goyozan Mountain, straddlingSumita Town, Kamaishi City, and Ofunato City in Iwate Prefecture(Takatsuki 1992), growsphysically smaller the further southone travels,so finding largeantlersbecomesproblematic. Inaddition, thenumberofdeerhasincreasedinrecentyears,sothehabitatdensityhasrisenandtheanimalshavegrownmorecompact.However,theantlersofEzo(Hokkaido)deerwouldexceedthestandardsrequestedbothindiameterandlength.

Since only a few people outside the area know shishiodori as aperformingartofTohokudistrict,wehad tostartcollecting informationabout it to introduce to thepeople inKansai, hundredsofkilometers tothesouth.Oneof themembersof the“WeLoveDeerProject” living in


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Kyoto hosted a “Tohoku Forever Deer” photography exhibition atHonen-inTemple,whichwasviewedwithgreatinterestbymanypeople,andgaveusastrongimpetus.

Beforelong,eightpairsofdeerantlersmatchingtherequirementsofthe two troupes in Ofunato City were submitted by the president of avenison-processingcompany inHyogoPrefecture.He said that, in spiteof the decreased acquisition of large deer over the past two years, theyhad processed over 2,000 head of deer since establishing the companysixyearsagoandhadasplendidstoreofantlers.Intruth,thepercentageofuseableantlerswasjustonepairoutofevery250whichmatchedtherequirementsforantlersneededinshishiodori.

Throughmyacquaintanceswithconnections to themedia, I askedseveral newspaper companies to cover the photography exhibition andto write articles. Donations of deer antlers were received from severalpeople who had read these newspaper articles. Moreover, 15 pairs ofantlers were supplied by hunters in Nagano Prefecture through theintroduction of another acquaintance; donations were also receivedfromotherhunters.Antlersweresent toa troupe thathadsuffered thedisaster in Minami Sanriku Town in Miyagi Prefecture, in addition tothe two troupes inOfunato, and I asked localnewspapers tocover thesituation of the damage and support activities for these troupes.Through such social concern, further support was directed to theafflictedtroupes.

Folk Performing Arts as Cultural Assets

In recentyears, therehavebeenmanydeerdancesat localperformingarts festivals, along with other folk performing arts. Even now, somedeer dance troupes circle temples and houses during Bon and atequinox events to hold memorial services for the deceased. Thedancers sing a song of supplication in front of the memorial tabletsinstalled on the veranda, and the group leader makes offerings offlowersandwater.Tocomplement thesingingof thedancers topraisethedead, thehouse residentsburn incense.On the100thdayafter theGreat East Japan Earthquake, the 100th day of supplication to requestrepose for the souls of the dead was held in the affected coastalregions.Again at this time, depending on the region, the sword danceand deer dance were performed as supplications before the memorialtabletofthedead.


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Thepurposeofthedeerdanceisnotmerelyentertainment;itisalsolinked to deep convictions concerning nature and life. In the course ofbeholding the dance, people’s thoughts are directed towards the excel-lence of the deer antlers and the beauty of the costumes, elements thatserve to comprise a majestic dance.We thought it would be impossiblein just a fewmonths to collect antlersof the samequality as those thathadbeencarefullyselectedovermanyyears.Evenso,byBoninAugust,we were able to deliver the antlers to the three deer dance troupes inIwateandMiyagiPrefectures.However,theprocurementofclothingandprops other than the antlers has only recently begun. The Nagahamashishiodoritroupevisitedtemporaryhousingandperformedsupplicationto the recentlydepartedusingonly theirvoices anddrums,which is allthey were able to rescue from the debris. Half a year after the disaster,therewere stillmanymissingpeople, andbereavedwhocouldnotholdfunerals of the dead yet. The president of the Mitobe Deer DancePreservation Society had his home destroyed by the tsunami and nowlives in the neighboring Tome City, renting a house. When I had thechancetotalktohimafterBon,hesaidthathehadnotyetheldafuneralforhis family. I thusdecided tocontinue thesupportactivities for thesedeerdancetroupesforawhilelonger.

Within six months after the disaster, theAssociation for CorporateSupportoftheArts, theJapanFolkPerformingArtsAssociationandtheNipponFoundationall started their support services.Thereare societiessuchastheOmiyaCityRotaryClubthatalsointendtosupporttheresto-rationoffolkperformingartsasacontinuationof theirvolunteeractivi-ties in theafflictedarea.TheAgency forCulturalAffairshas started itsassistance program, called “Preservation and Utilization of CulturalProperties,”whichisintendedtoprovidereconstructioncontractsfortherebirth and utilization of cultural assets, including intangible culturalassets. We will offer support to the devastated groups until they fullyrestart their activities, not only informing them about potential sourcesof support but alsohelping themapply for fundsorwriting recommen-dationsasnecessary.

Themeaningofreposeofthesoul,commemorationofthedeparted,and supplication are incorporated into folk performing arts such as thedeer dance, sword dance, and Buddhist prayer dance performed duringBonevents,andouractivitieswerealsosuffusedwiththisfact.Justafterthe disaster occurred, the media covered some of the folk performingarts performed in the afflicted area. At the same time, since they


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expected“tocheerupthesurvivors”or“torecovertheirtiesinthearea”throughperformingart, themedia tended toemphasize theperformanceitself.HoweveraroundJuly, summer festivalsand fireworksdisplaysallover the country, other than those festivals and Bon events held in theafflicted area, were reported in newspapers and on TV programs.As aresult,peopledecidedtoorganizeeventsoneafteranother,withmanyofthemproclaiming,“MemorialServiceforReconstructionafter theGreatEast Japan Earthquake.” For the survivors, it is not the case that theirliveswill be reconstructedmerelyby the resumptionof their arts; thereare still more compelling problems such as housing and employment.Even so, if the meaning of folk performing arts is recognized by thepeople involved, I would like to support even more of them, and I willcontinuewatchinghowthecurrentsituationunfolds.3

Notes1. Kuromori-kaguraservesGongen-SamaofKuromoriShrineinMiyakoCity,

andunotori-kaguraservesGongen-SamaofUnotoriShrineinFudaiVillage.In a given year, kuromori-kagura makes a tour towards the north, andunotori-kagura makes a tour towards the south; the following year, thedirectionsarereversed.

2. Bergmann’sRuleisaneco-geographicprinciplewhichstatesthatspeciesoflarger size are found at higher latitudes and species of smaller size arefound at lower latitudes, correlating average temperatures with body size.The rule is named after a 19th-century German biologist, ChristianBergmann, who was among the first to describe the pattern in 1847.Obviouslytherearemanyexceptions,suchaselephants.

3. Whenmymotherpassedawayearly inMarch2012,oneof theyoungdeerdancers, who had been working together with me in supporting disaster-affected folkperforming art groups, sentmeapoem in three stanzas toberecited in a deer dance performance in front of the tomb. By the end ofMarch2012,twoofthreedeerdancetroupeswehadsupportedwereabletoget new costumes and musical instruments. Nagahama, however, still hasdifficultiesinreorganizingthetroupeandorderingnewgeareveninApril.

ReferencesAgency for Cultural Affairs. 2011. “Call for your cooperation in saving and

recovering cultural properties damaged by the Tohoku-Pacific OceanEarthquake.” <http://www.bunka.go.jp/bunkazai/tohokujishin_kanren/chokan_message_e.html>.


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Sori, Takeshi. 2003. Shin Awaji daishinsai to irei [The Great Hanshin-AwajiEarthquake and memorial service for the dead]. Gendai minzokushi nochihei 3 “kioku” [Horizons of contemporary folklore 3: “memory”],MichiyaIwamoto,ed.Tokyo:AsakuraPublishingCo.

Takatsuki,Seiki.1992.Kitaniikirushikatachi:shika,sasasoshiteyukiomeguruseitaigaku [The lives of deer in the north: ecology of deer, bamboo-grassandsnow].Tokyo:Dōbutsusha.


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folk performing art in the aftermath of the great east japan earthquake

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